meal worms/ super worms real or myth

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phatty

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i have read a lot of people saying that super/ meal worm will eat there way out of the stomach of reptiles if there head is not squashed
has any one every had this happen as i though the stomach acid would take care of them quickly

i don't want my mate said answers i want to hear about people that feed them with out squashed head and people that have had this happen
 
I have fed both my beardies superworms many times with no issues.
 
i used to feed my lizards live meal worms and never did i have a problem. If you think about it they dont feed on worms with squished heads in the wild lol. BUT i may be wrong thats just my theory :)
 
It's happened twice that I know. Once to a close friend who was a former member of staff at TWP. The second was a member of this site who posted about his ordeal in 2002/2003. I think the chances of it happening are pretty slim but it is most certainly not a myth.

I believe Becs has also seen a similar incident.

Brodie
 
its always a friend of my mates aunties neighbors brother that had it happen to them...i have feed them to beardis of all ages without issues i even feed the super worms to the local frog population and you can see the worms still wiggling around in there stomach for considerable time without any harm what so ever.
 
No,it happend to a close friend. I witnessed the wounds first hand. Take it or leave it.
 
no it wont happen, i feed my dragons mealworms and they have no problem, mine absolutely love them!
 
i feed my older dragons meal worms, but have also heard this has happened before but is rare.
 
For those that are worried, stimulate a stomach with a damp piece of paper towel, put it over a few live ones and watch them sit there and die, they make no attempt to burrow out.
 
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No,it happend to a close friend. I witnessed the wounds first hand. Take it or leave it.

Can you confirm the animal was in good health prior to the incident? From my research, It only occurs when the animal is almost dead, or dying from an unrelated cause. I've also heard the mealworm can burrow into the animal, rather than out of.
 
most of these cases would be put down to coincidence...some one puts worms/super worms out for there dragons and walks away ..most first time keepers don't realise just how savage a beardie can be..it gets killed or limbs removed by other dragons in there enclosure and super worms will rush to any source of moisture... the owner comes back to find worms crawling through the dead dragon...
 
More than likely that animal died and then was eaten by a mealworm.
I had a thick tail gecko die last year and the crickets in the tub with her had munched a decent size hole in her abdomen within 8-10hrs.
 
I feed large superworms to ackies, beardies, and amyaes with no probs at all, and have done for a few years now.
 
I've fed mealworms to water skinks as staples with crickets , bluetongues and young bearded dragons as daily treats. Never had one eat it's way out.

My money wrt mealworms is = urban herpers myth.
 
no it wont happen, i feed my dragons mealworms and they have no problem, mine absolutely love them!
So do mine, but I limit the amount of mealworms I give them as they are very fatty (and only because they are very fatty).

My pet water skink loves mealworms (lavae, pupae and beetles) , so do the wild water skinks who live around my house, in my garden and in my garage.
Before they were all killed by neigbbour's cat, my colony of wild frogs loved mealworms too.

A better worm is silkworm lavae, I'm giving these as a part of their daily nutrition and they absolutely love them , even more than mealworms and crickets if there is a silkworm given too.
A full grown silkworm is a big meal.
 
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Heard the claims and stories, never ever seen any physical proof - images of a lizard with mealworm eating its way out .
 
yea 33s152e, i only feed them as treats because of their fattyness, ill see if i can find some silk worms at the local reptile shop!
 
I believe that rumour originated from fish keepers. My oscar has been fine with them for years without drama.....

sorry no relative herp info.
 
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